Fly Away
by MVL2000
Summary: Originally a one-shot from when Augustus and Hazel first met but now I'm doing all of TFIOS in Augustus' POV... Read & review!
1. Chapter 1

**Augustus' POV**

I hopped down the stairs after Isaac, listening to him go _on and on _about Monica. I mean, I know they're like "in love" or whatever, but did he _always _have to talk about her?

Oh god. Don't even get me started on the word always! I swear, their whole text conversation was

Isaac: always

Monica: always

Isaac: always

Monica: always

And so it goes. Mental Eye Roll.

When we reached the Literal Heart of Jesus, I took a seat in one of the small molded plastic elementary school chairs. I sat down, slouched with one of my hands half in the pocket of my dark jeans.

I sat there, just looking around, waiting for the actual support group to start, because the sooner it started, the sooner I could get the hell out of here.

I only came at Isaac's request, because I knew how he fealt, even if he won't show it. Those last days before the cancer steals a part of you, eyes, leg, anything, are terrible. All you want is more time.

That's all anyone ever wants, really.

I looked back at the stair well that we came down, already dreading going up them. I could still do lots with Ol' Prosty, but not being able to bend your leg at the knee made going up the stairs a little bit more difficult then it was for the normal person.

That's when she walked down.

A girl, with short hair, wearing faded jeans and a yellow t-shirt advertising an old band, walked in dragging a cylindrical green tank behind her. I watched as she walked over to the table filled with dry grocery- store cookies and artificially bright- coloured drinks. She grabbed a cookie and poured a drink into a paper cups before turning around, letting me see her face for the first time.

Her eyes met mine, but I didn't look away. I couldn't.

It was amazing and horrifying, all at the same time. It was like seeing a ghost of Caroline, right there in front of me. Time seemed to freeze, and I swore I could hear Caroline next to me, whispering the same insults in my ear over and over, laughing like a maniac. But yet, this girl didn't look like Sick Caroline. She looked like the Caroline I knew before the tumour had taken over her brain; the girl I saw on the swing set, day after day.

Time unfroze, and the girl looked away, blushing. She glanced at me a second time, quickly, before looking away and walking towards the circle. I looked more carefully this time. I could tell just by looking at her that she was beautiful, hidden by the monster that had brought us all together today: cancer.

Fascinated, I watched as she took the seat next to Isaac, just 2 seats away from me.

Looking at her was like reading a new book, or how I imagine Christopher Columbus felt when he first discovered America. I just wanted to explore her mind and know everything about her.

Support Group had just become my new favourite place.

She quickly glanced at me again before pulling out her phone and checking the screen.

I wanted to scream out in frustration. I couldn't even get her to hold my gaze! I had never had any trouble with girls, but this girl was different. In a good way.

In a _very _good way.

The circle quickly filled with the cancer-ful teenagers, and the group leader, (Peter, Pat, I couldn't remember his name, just that it started with a P) began a prayer,

_God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference._

I stared at her the whole time, still fascinated by this beautiful angel that had been sent to me from heaven. Of course, she was not the average kind of beauty. Her worn out clothes hid her curves, and her dark hair lay flat on her head. She wore no makeup, no perfume, and no jewellery. No tight or exposing clothes, like most girls my age. But yet I had never seen anyone so gorgeous, and the fact that she didn't even try only made her even more beautiful.

As the group leader, (... PATRICK! I remembered Isaac mentioning that to me on the way here!) _Patrick_, started talking again, she looked back at me _again. _Only, this time she didn't look away.

For infinite years, I stared into her green eyes.

Green had just become my new favourite colour.

Thinking she was staring at me because she was annoyed _I _had been staring at her, I smiled apologetically and looked away.

Only, when I snuck a glance at her again, she met my eyes and flicked her eyebrows up as if to say, _I win._

Feeling stupid, I shrugged my shoulders as Isaac started talking. I turned away from her to concentrate on Isaac. I was here for him, after all.

"I'm Isaac." He said to the group, "I'm 17. And it's looking like I have to get surgery in a couple weeks, after which I'll be blind. Not to complain or anything because I know a lot of us have it worse, but yeah, I mean, being blind does sort of suck. My girlfriend helps though," _And your amazing super awesome best friend too! _I thought to myself, "And friends like Augustus." He said as if reading my mind. "So, yeah, there's nothing you can do about it."

"We're here for you Isaac" Patrick said, "Let Isaac hear it, guys." Not sure what to do, I watched as everyone in the circle repeated him in dead, monotoned voices.

When they got to me, I smiled a bit before starting.

"My name is Augustus Waters," I said, "I'm 17. I had a touch of osteosarcoma a year and a half ago, but I'm just here today at Isaac's request."

"And how are you feeling?" Patrick asked.

"Oh, I'm grand." I smirked, "I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend."

After an agonizing wait, it was finally her turn. I smiled in anticipation of this mysterious girl finally having a name, as if that would make her any less mysterious.

"My name is Hazel," she said, "I'm 16." _I like younger girls anyways _"Thyroid with mets in my lungs. I'm okay."

She had spoken so little, and I found myself aching to hear her voice again. As cheesy as it sounded, her voice was like music to my ears, and I wanted to hear the song over and over.

For an hour, people spoke. It seemed that everyone except her and I had spoken. I watched her the whole time, never getting bored of looking at her. If she was uncomfortable with me staring at her, she didn't show it. She even met my gaze a few times.

I noticed that whenever someone talked about ridiculous things like anti- cancer diets, or special exercises, she would look at Isaac and sigh. Shortly after, he would sigh in response and shake his head ever so slightly.

Whenever this happened, I felt a pang in the pit of my stomach. It took me a while to figure out the feeling. It was jealousy.

Jealousy was a stupid thing to feel towards my best friend who was already in a relationship, but I couldn't help it. I had, however, agreed with myself that I was allowed to be mad at Isaac for not telling me about Hazel.

Knowing the doppelganger of my dead girlfriend was going to be here would've been good to prepare for.

The longer this went on, the harder it became for me to hide my jealousy. Finally, Patrick called on me. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding, glad for the distraction. I didn't hear the whole sentence, just

"...share your fears with the group."

"My fears?" I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hazel perk up at the sound of my voice. Seeing that gave me butterflies in my stomach.

I've never gotten butterflies from a girl before. I thought _girls_ only got butterflies from _guys. _What the hell?!

"Yes" Patrick said.

"I fear oblivion." I said without hesitation. "I fear it like the proverbial blind man who's afraid of the dark."

"Too soon." Isaac said, smiling.

"Was that insensitive?" I asked, smiling too. "I can be pretty blind to other people's feelings."

We were both laughing, but Patrick stopped us by saying,

"Augustus, please. Let's return to _you _and _your _struggles. You said you fear oblivion?"

"I did" I agreed, settling down.

Patrick looked confused. "Would, uh, anyone like to speak to that."

I didn't expect anyone to raise their hand. But then, after a moment, she half raised her hand.

"Hazel!" Patrick called with great enthusiasm. I guess she didn't talk much during Support Group.

She looked me right in the eye.

"There will come a time," she said, "when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything." I watched her, stunned. Her beauty seemed to double with each word that came out of her mouth. "There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything that we did and built and wrote and thought and discovered will be forgotten and all of this-" she gestured around the room "will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be a time after. If the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that's what everyone else does."

After she finished, everyone was silent. I felt a smile spread all the way across my face, and I didn't try to hide it.

"God damn," I said quietly, but loud enough so that she could hear, "aren't you something else."

Neither of us spoke for the end of support group, but when it was over, I pushed myself out of the plastic chair and walking over to her. She was shorter than me, and I kept my distance so that she wouldn't have to crane her neck to look at me.

"What's your name?" I asked

"Hazel" she replied.

"No, your full name."

"Um, Hazel Grace Lancaster." she said.

I opened my mouth to reply but Isaac walked up.

"Hold on." I said to Hazel Grace. I turned to Isaac.

"That was actually worse than you made it out to be." I said.

"I told you it was bleak." He responded.

"Why do you bother with it?" I asked, not really understanding the point of sitting in a circle while listening to a group of canceristic children talk about how _strong _and _brave _they feel.

"I don't know," He said with a shrug, "It kind of helps?"

I leaned in so Hazel Grace couldn't hear.

"She's a regular?" I asked.

"Ya. She looks just like Caroline, doesn't she?" He replied, quieter than me.

"I'll say." I responded and clasped Isaac on the shoulder before stepping back. "Tell Hazel about clinic."

And so he recounted The Story of The Stupid Doctor, while I watched Hazel's lips, a smile teasing upon them.

"He sounds like a winner," She said after Isaac finished, "I'm gonna try to get me some eye cancer just so I can make this guy's acquaintance."

"Good luck with that. All right, I should go. Monica's waiting for me. I gotta look at her a lot while I can." Isaac said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Counterinsurgence tomorrow?" I asked

"Definitely!" Isaac replied over his shoulder as he ran to the stairs, taking them 2 at a time, leaving me alone with Hazel Grace.

I turned back to Hazel Grace.

"Literally." I said

"Literally?" She asked, confused.

"We are literally in the heart of Jesus." I responded, "I thought we were in a church basement, but we are literally in the heart of Jesus."

"Someone should tell Jesus." She said, "I mean, it's gotta be dangerous, storing kids with cancer in your heart."

"I would tell him myself," I replied, "but unfortunately I am literally stuck inside of his heart, so he wouldn't be able to hear me." I thought it was a lame response, but I heard her laugh. I shook my head, smiling and just looking at her.

"What?" She asked, looking self- conscious.

"Nothing." I said

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

_Just tell her, Augustus! _"Because you're beautiful. I enjoy looking at beautiful people, and I decided a while ago not to deny myself the simpler pleasures of existence." When she didn't say anything, I continued to fill the awkward silence. "I mean, particularly given that, as you so deliciously-" _Really, Augustus?! DELICIOUSLY?! _"pointed out, all of this will end in oblivion and everything."

She scoffed, "I'm not beau-"

"You're like a millennial Natalie Portman. Like _V for Vendetta _Natalie Portman."

"Never seen it." She said.

"Really? Pixie- haired gorgeous girl dislikes authority and can't help but fall for a boy she knows is trouble. It's your autobiography, as far as I can tell," I flirted.

A girl walked past us. "How's it going, Alisa?" I asked her.

"Hi Augustus." She mumbled and smiled.

"Memorial people," I explained, "Where do you go?"

"Children's," She said, her voice much shyer than it was before. I nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Well," She said, and started walking towards the stairwell. I followed. "So, see you next time, maybe?" She asked

_As long as you'll be here_, I said in my head, but knew I shouldn't say that out loud. This was awkward enough. She said it as if she was saying goodbye. And I was not ready to say goodbye to Hazel Grace just yet.

"You should see it," I said, ignoring her question. "_V for Vendetta_, I mean."

"Okay," she said, "I'll look it up."

_That's not the point of watching the movie. You're supposed to watch it with ME._

"No. With me. At my house. Now." I said.

She stopped walking. "I hardly know you, Augustus Waters. You could be an ax murderer."

All I could think while she said that was how my name rolled off her tongue, so naturally; so beautifully.

I nodded. "True enough, Hazel Grace." I said, and walked passed her. Her answer was final. There's no point in thinking What Could Have Been. And besides, i had just met Hazel Grace, I shouldn't have thought that she would just, I don't know, jump in my car so we could drive off into the sunset and live Happily Ever After.

We both stumbled up the stairs. I tried to make it the least obvious I could, but I could feel myself limping a bit. When we reached the top, we came out of the church to see Isaac and Monica making out against the wall.

"What's with the 'always'?" Hazel Grace asked.

I sighed. "Always is their thing. They'll _always_ love each other or whatever. I would conservatively estimate they have texted each other the word _always _4 million times in the last year."

After a few more cars took everyone else away, it was just Hazel Grace and I, watching Isaac and Monica make out.

"Imagine taking that last drive to the hospital." she said quietly. "The last time you'll ever drive a car."

"Your killing my vibe here, Hazel Grace," I said, "I'm trying to observe young love and it's many- splendored awkwardness."

"I think he's hurting her boob." She said.

"Yes," I replied, "it's difficult to ascertain whether he is trying to arouse her or perform a breast exam."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my pack of cigarettes. I took one out and put it between my lips.

"Are you _serious_?" Hazel Grace asked angrily. "You think that's cool? Oh, my God, you just ruined _the whole thing_."

"Which whole thing?" I asked, turning to her. The smile had faded from my lips and I watched her eyes dance between the cigarette between my lips and my eyes.

"The whole thing when a boy who is not unattractive or unintelligent or seemingly in any way unacceptable stares at me and points out incorrect uses of literality and compares me to actresses and asks me to watch a movie at his house. But of course there is always a _hamartia _and yours is that, oh, my God, even though you HAD FREAKING CANCER you give money to a company in exchange for the chance to acquire YET MORE CANCER. Let me just assure you that not being able to breath? SUCKS. Totally disappointing. _Totally_."

"A hamartia?" I asked.

"A fatal flaw." She explained and turned away from me. Just as a car pulled up (that I assume was hers), I grabbed her hand. I felt the silkiness of her skin before she abruptly ripped it out of mine.

"They don't kill you unless you light one," I explained, desperate for her to understand. "and I've never lit one. It's a metaphor, see: you put the killing thing right between your teeth but don't give it the power to do its killing."

"It's a metaphor," She repeated, doubt hinting her voice.

"It's a metaphor." I agreed.

"You choose your behaviors based on their metaphorical resonances..." She said

I smiled. "Oh yes. I'm a big believer in metaphors, Hazel Grace."

She turned to the car. The window rolled down. "I'm going to a movie with Augustus Waters." She said. "Please record the next several episodes of ANTM marathon for me."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

As we walked to my car, I already saw it: Hazel Grace was going to be mine. Heaven had sent this angel to me for a reason. I wasn't going to let her fly away.

**What do you think? Send me a review! Even if you thought it sucked! Well, maybe not. Still, love to know what you guys think! **

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! I've decided to continue this and see where it'll go. If it doesn't work, I'll discontinue it but for now I'm super excited to have the chance to work on it more! So, let's get to the story! Enjoy!**

I was always a bad driver- I couldn't feel pressure in my prosthetic, which meant I had to guess how much pressure to put on the pedals- but today I seemed especially horrific. Maybe it was having Hazel Grace so close to me. I wasn't looking at her, but I could feel her presence radiating onto me. I winced with every jolt, knowing that the movement at the corner of my eye was Hazel grace being flung against her seat belt or thrown back against her seat.

"I failed my driving test 3 times," I said, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"You don't say," she replied, her voice shaky, as she was flung against the seat belt.

I laughed, nodding. "Well I can't feel pressure in old Prosty, and I can't get the hang of driving left-footed. My doctors say most amputees can drive with no problem but... yeah. Not me." I say and steal a glance at her. I quickly turn my attention back to the road, knowing that even with as much concentration as I can muster with Hazel in the car, I'll still drive like a maniac. The least I could do was _try _to drive smoothly. "Anyway, I go in for my fourth driving test, and it goes about like this is going."

I slam the brakes as the lights ahead of us turn red, throwing Hazel against her seat belt. _Again._

"Sorry. I swear to God I'm trying to be gentle. Right, so anyway, at the end of the test, I totally thought I'd failed again, but the instructor was like, 'you driving is unpleasant, but it isn't technically unsafe'"

"I'm not sure I agree," she said, "I suspect Cancer Perk."

Cancer perks were things kids with cancer got that normal kids didn't, like signed basketballs, free passes on homework, sports jerseys, etc.

"Yeah," I said as the light turned green and I tentatively pushed my foot on the gas pedal. I ended up slamming them, sending us zooming across the streets.

"You know they've got hand controls for people who can't use their legs," she said.

"Yeah, maybe someday," I sighed, knowing there was no way in hell I'd ever try to use one of those. I had lost a limb, but I could still do things like a normal person. I didn't need special treatment.

The conversation seemed to end. I brainstormed for something to say, but nothing came to mind. Instead, Hazel Grace spoke.

"So, are you in school?" It was small talk, but at least it was talk.

"Yeah, I'm at North Central. A year behind, though: I'm a sophomore. You?"

She hesitated before shyly responding. "No, my parents withdrew me 3 years ago."

My jaw dropped. "Three _years_?!"

And so she told me her story. How she was diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer, followed by multiple surgeries that did shrank the tumours before they grew once again. How she was supposed to die, but she didn't. As a result, she now had a drug that would help her live her nearly breathless life for a few more years. When I suggest she go back to school, she replied she couldn't, because she already got her GED, so now she takes classes at MCC.

I nodded. "A college girl," I said smirking, "that explains the aura of sophistication." She smiled and shoved my arm playfully. When we reached my house, I gently stopped in the driveway (just kidding. It was as sudden as if we had crashed right into the wall of the house.) and led her inside. I led her to the kitchen and introduced her to my parents.

"This is Hazel Grace."

"Just Hazel." She insisted.

"How's it going, Hazel?" My dad asked

"Okay," she said

"How was Isaac's support group?" My dad asked.

"It was incredible," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're such a Debbie Downer!" My mom said. "Hazel, do you enjoy it?"

She paused, and I saw her debating whether to be brutally honest or to sugar coat the truth. She went with in between response.

"Most of the people are really nice."

My parents seemed determined to spend more time with her than me, because they talked to her for what seemed like forever, before I finally cut in and said, "Hazel and I are going to watch _V For Vendetta _so she can see her filmic doppelganger, mid- two thousand Natalie Portman."

"The living room TV is yours for the watching." My dad said cheerfully.

"I think we're actually gonna watch it in the basement."

My dad laughed. "Nice try. Living room." He said sternly.

"But I want to show Hazel Grace the basement," I whined.

"Just Hazel." Hazel Grace said quietly from behind me.

"So show Just Hazel" I rolled my eyes in frustration. Was he really trying to make a joke?! "the basement, and then come upstairs and watch your movie in the living room."

I let out a loud sigh and put all my weight on my real leg, swinging the prosthetic around. The guilt trick apparently wasn't working today, because my dad didn't budge.

"Fine," I mumbled and led Hazel Grace to the basement.

I saw her look at my basketball shelf. "I used to play basketball," I explained, even though it seemed pretty obvious.

"You must've been pretty good," she replied, her eyes still on the shelf.

"I wasn't bad, but all the shoes and balls are Cancer Perks." I walked towards the TV and snatched up _V for Vendetta_. "I was, like, the prototypical white Hoosier kid. I was all about resurrecting the lost art of the midrange jumper, but then one day I was shooting free throws- just standing at the foul line at the North Central gym shooting from a rack of balls. All at once, I couldn't figure out why I was methodically tossing a spherical object through a toroidal object. It seemed like the stupidest thing I could possibly be doing. I started thinking about little kids putting a cylindrical peg through a circular hole, and how they do it over and over again for months when they figure it out, and how basketball was basically just a a slightly more aerobic version of that same exercise. Anyway, for the longest time, I just kept sinking free throws. I hit eighty in a row, my all-time best, but as I kept going, I felt more and more like a two year old. And then for some reason I started to think about hurdlers."

I noticed she had sat down on my bed.

"Are you okay?" I asked

She nodded. "I'm fine. Just listening. Hurdlers?"

I didn't want to keep rambling on and on, but honestly, it was better than silence. I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, hurdlers. I don't know why. I started thinking about them running their hurdle races, and jumping over these totally arbitrary objects that had been set in their path. And I wondered if hurdlers ever thought, you know, 'this would go a lot faster if we just got rid of the hurdles'"

"Was this before your diagnosis?" She asked. Honestly, I was a bit surprised. Most people just seemed to ignore the cancer, pretend it wasn't there. It seemed so casual for her. Maybe because she was going through the same thing.

After a moment, I half- smiled. "Right, well, there was that too. The day of the Existentially Fraught Free Throws was coincidentally also my last day of Dual Leggedness. I had a weekend between when they scheduled the amputation and when it happened. My own little glimpse of what Isaac's going through."

She nodded, looking at me. I could see was thinking about something. I wish I knew what. I stared back at her. She was so beautiful. You could tell she wasn't wearing makeup, that she hadn't brushed her hair or done anything to make herself look good. But yet she did.

"Do you have siblings?" She asked, tearing me away from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I responded stupidly.

"You said that thing about watching kids play."

"Oh, yeah, no. I hace nephews, from my half sisters. But they're older. They're like- DAD, HOW OLD ARE JULIE AND MARTHA?"

"Twenty eight!" He screamed back.

"They're like twenty eight," I continued "They live in Chacago. They are both married to very fancy lawyer dudes. Or banker dudes. I can't remember. You have siblings?"

She shook her head no. I sat down beside her, but not too close. "So what's your story?" I asked.

She sighed. "I already told you my story. I was diagnosed when-"

I cut her off. "No, not your cancer story. _Your_ story. Interests, hobbies, passions, weird fetishes, etcetera."

"Um..." She trailed off.

"Don't tell me you're one of those people that becomes their disease. I know so many people like that. It's disheartening. Like, cancer is in the growth business, right? The taking-people-over business. But surely you haven't let it succeed prematurely."

For a while, she was silent. I thought she might not respond, but finally, she said softly, "I'm pretty unextraordinary."

"I reject that out of hand." I said with a grin, "Think of something you like. First thing that comes to mind."

"Um. Reading?" She said, unsure. There. That was a good start.

"What do you read?"

"Everything." She responded, "From, like hideous romance to pretentious fiction to poetry. Whatever."

"Do you write poetry, too?"

"No. I don't write."

"There!" I said, a bit too loud. "Hazel Grace, you are the _only_ teenager in America who prefers reading poetry to writing it. This tells me so much. You read a lot of capital G great books, don't you?"

"I guess?"

"What's your favourite?"

"Um," She hesitated. Finally she told me, "My favourite book is probably _An Imperial Affliction._"

"Does it feature zombies?" I asked, stupidly.

"No."

"Stormtroopers?"

She shook her head, "It's not that kind of book."

I grinned. "I am going to read this terrible book with the boring title that does not contain stormtroopers," I promised and turned to the stack of books under my bed side table. I pulled out _The Price of Dawn_ and, trying to be subtle, I wrote my number inside the front cover. I turned back around to Hazel Grace. "All I ask in exchange is that you read this brilliant and haunting novelization of my favourite video game." As I handed it to her, I realized that giving a girl a book based off a video game on your first date- _wait, is this a date?_\- was probably not a great idea. I almost snatched it back, but instead ended up holding her pale, delicate hand.

_It's so _"Cold," I thought, saying the last word out loud. I bit my lip. When would I shut up?

"Not cold so much as underoxygenated."

I looked her right in the eye and grinned. "I love it when you talk medical to me," Then I stood, pulling her up with me, and held her hand till we reach the stairs.

* * *

As the credits to the movie rolled, I said, "Pretty great, huh?"

"Pretty great," she agreed, although there was something in her voice that made me think otherwise. _She didn't like the movie, you moron!_

"I should get home. Class in the morning." She said, and I got up to look for my keys while she waited on the couch.

She drove my car back to her house while I sat in shotgun. The ride was much smoother to her house than it was to mine.

I played a few songs from Hectic Glow, my favourite band. She seemed to like them. As she pulled into a driveway, I turned off the radio. I should kiss her.

Kiss her kiss her kiss her kiss her.

I wonder if she was thinking about kissing me, too. I really liked Hazel Grace. I really _really _liked Hazel Grace.

She put the car in park and looked over at me. Light was shining through the skylight onto her; the shadows framing her face and making her eyes shine. She looked like a painting. I wanted to tell her to hold still and take a picture, to capture this moment._  
_

_Kiss her._

But I couldn't. I was too scared. Too scared of rejection, too scared of everything. I cleared my throat and shook the thoughts from my head.

"Hazel Grace," I said, "It's been a real pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Ditto, Mr. Waters," She replied shyly, her head tilted to the ground as she looked up at me with her big, Hazel eyes.

"May I see you again?" I said, nervous of her answer. She smiled and I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Sure."

"Tomorrow?" I asked hopefully. _Tomorrow, Augustus? Really? God, you sound desperate. _But I was. I don't know why, but I really was.

"Patience, grasshopper," She answered, "You don't want to seem overeager."

"Right, that's why I said tomorrow," I explained. "I want to see you again tonight. But I'm willing to wait _all night and much of tomorrow_." She rolled her eyes. "I'm _serious._" I said.

"You don't even know me," She said, grabbing the book and opening the door. "How about I call you when I finish this?" She said as she stepped out of the car, holding up the book.

"You don't even have my phone number," I argued.

"I strongly suspect you wrote it in the book." She said.

I smiled a goofy smile, not able to contain it. "And you say we don't know each other."

She smiled and shut the door, before slowly walking to her front door and closing it behind her without looking back. But, as I pulled out of the driveway, I saw her on the couch, opening a book. She looked up at me, grinned, and waved me goodbye.

* * *

**What do you guys think!? This took forever, because I have to copy the dialogue from the book. I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to write more but I'm currently in summer school trying to get ahead in math (yeah, I know. *Cough* *Cough* NERD) so I'll be really busy by the end of the month with exams, etc. But I hope I can write before that! I also have to get my own laptop for high school so it'll be a lot easier when I can sit in my room and write peacefully instead of writing it in the kitchen with everyone around.**

**Do you guys have any suggestions? I take advice or just compliments! :)**

**Also, I started an IG account, where I read books and then rate and write a review on them. I thought it'd be a cool idea if people are looking for new books! If you want to follow me, the name is **

**ultimate_book_worm**

**I don't love the name but everything else was taken! Ahh!**

**I hope I see you soon! Love y'all!**


	3. Another Author Note (I'm so sorry!)

Hey guys! Sorry I have so many author notes!

**For my TFIOS fanfic:**

This one is just to say that my TFIOS book is still being lent out- she won't give it back!? So I can't continue the story until I have my book back. Hopefully soon!

**For my Divergent fanfic:**

I'm so sorry about this guys. I know I haven't updated in forever. I've been away all summer and to top it off, I've been having sever writer's block. I don't know where I'm going with this story, honestly. I wanted to write an original story, but so many people have written with this idea that I don't know what to write without making it like someone's else story. I'm considering giving this story away, but I'm not sure yet. I might write another chapter before I decide. If anyone's interested, PM me or comment.

**Just in general:**

So, I have good news... I got a laptop! This means it will be _so _much easier for me to write because I don't have to wait for other people to finish using the computer! Hopefully this will help out with my Divergent Fanfic problem, cause it was my first fanfic and I really don't want to give it up but I want what's best for the story, and in the end giving it away might be the right thing to do. However, a new school year has just started, and I'm at a new school, so I'll probably get settled in with everything before I fully dedicate myself to my fanfics again.

I love you all! XO

~M


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the wait, I ****_still _****haven't gotten the book back (!), and the new school year has been super busy, especially with a new school and starting high school and stuff. Since I don't have my book back, I'm trusting Sparknotes (never thought I'd need to use that- it's for people who ****_don't _****like to read), and going ahead and writing a chapter from Augustus' POV that's ****_not _****in the book. Hope this turns out ok. Let me know what you guys think :) even negative feedback is good, although I haven't gotten much of that which is awesome! Ok, I'll shut up now and let you read.**

* * *

Even though she said she would call after finishing the book (which I knew would take a few days), I still held my phone close through the next day in hopes that she would call.

Needless to say, she didn't.

Around noon, as I was watching TV, my phone rang from the coffee table in front of me. I grabbed it in record timing and checked the ID. The number was blocked, and I hastily pressed answer and put it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked hopefully into the receiver.

"Aye, dude, I'm so bored, and I'm standing outside your house right now so you better be home," A familiar voice said.

"Isaac?" I groaned.

I heard him as he burst out laughing, unable to contain himself. I fumed, realizing he blocked his number on purpose.

"Who'd you think it was?" He mocked, between laughter, and I could hear a smirk in his voice. "Support Group Chick still hasn't given you her number?"

"Her name is Hazel," I snapped, "and no, not yet." I sighed.

"Maybe she's not interested...?" He suggested.

_She is,_ I thought, but instead I said, "Just get in here." before hanging up.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do?" Isaac asked as he flopped onto my couch.

My mom walked into the room before I could respond. She leaned against the doorway and smiled at me.

I internally groaned. She wanted something.

"Why don't you boys go to the mall?" She suggested, "You could pick up some stuff for me... and then do whatever teenage boys do these days."

I began to say no, but she cuts me off.

"Please? Save your old mother a trip?" She smiled hopefully and I groaned, out loud this time.

"Fine," I whined, dragging the word out.

We left after my mom gave me a list of what to buy. As we walked to the car, Isaac wined, "Can't I drive? You can't even feel the pedal!"

"At least I have two eyes to watch the road!" I shot back and shoved him towards the passenger side.

"Touché." Isaac laughed, then went silent as I backed out of the driveway.

I jolted to a stop at a red light, almost ramming into the people in front of us. They honked before inching forwards, putting distance between our cars.

"I need one of those car stickers," I said, "the stick family ones? Except it would just be me, with only one leg, and a sign underneath it saying '_sorry, it's a bit hard to drive with only one leg_'." Isaac let out a weak laugh, before glancing down at his phone and sighing.

The silence between us was was numbing, but not comfortable. When Isaac glanced down at his phone once more, I spoke up.

"What's wrong?" I asked, glancing over at him causing the car to swerve slightly.

He sighed. "Monica's been acting weird lately. I don't know, she just doesn't seem as happy anymore. I've tried to talk to her about it but she says she's fine."

"'_Fine_' is never fine with a girl, Isaac. Everyone knows that." I laughed.

A smile broke out on his face as he said, "I know, I know. Girls are so weird, they tell you they're fine, so you think they're fine! But they're never fine! I read online somewhere the scale goes: great, good, okay, bad, fine. Fine is at the bottom! The _bottom_! 'Fine' doesn't even have a negative connotation! It's supposed to be a neutral word!"

"Since when did you become the grammar police? You're such a nerd." I chuckled, pulling into the parking lot.

"Where to first?" Isaac asked as we stood in front of the large map of the mall. I pulled my mom's list out of my back pocket, looking at the items and the stores to buy them from. At the bottom, my mom wrote, '_enjoy the little things in life, one day you'll realize they're the big things. xo_'

Isaac looked over my shoulder and laughed. "Your mom is so positive," he said, and shook his head, "I swear she's on happy pills or something."

I laughed and crammed the list into my pocket. "First stop: book store. She needs some book." As we were walking, I muttered, "Why she couldn't just do this herself..." Shaking my head.

We found the book quickly, and headed to the next store. We got through the stores quickly and were on our way out when Isaac abruptly stopped.

"I need a new glasses cleaner cloth thing," he explained and I laughed, "You can just wait here."

I sat down on a bench as he ran into the store. I stared across the hall at a shoe store, watching a cute girl search for shoes. I had seen her around at parties, but I couldn't remember her name. She was popular, I knew, and she had one of those C/K names, where you weren't sure if it was spelt with a C or a K because it could go either way, and just when you thought you figured it out for a birthday card or such, you would be wrong and everyone would stare at you in a _you-can't-even-spell-her-name-what-kind-of-friend-are-you_ way.

And she was cute, but she was also one of those people who looked like they _knew_ they were cute, making them not as cute. You know what I mean? I always thought that girls who didn't know they were cute made them cute because I'm a pretty confident guy, and you know what they say. Opposites attract.

I watched her, racking my mind for her name. (K/C)atherine? No... (K/C)ate? No... I stared and stared, thinking that looking at her face might help. If I didn't figure this out, I would be up all night.

_Kaitlyn!_ I thought in victory and smiled at myself. I glanced back at Isaac, who was waiting in line. He was looking at me too, and waved at me sheepishly as the line slowly moved forward.

When I glanced back at Kaitlyn, she wasn't alone. A girl with short hair stood next to her, shaking her head at the shoes Kaitlyn was suggesting. She looked so familiar, but I didn't really believe it was her until she took a step forward, revealing the oxygen tank that was hiding behind her.

Hazel.

She sat down, slowly trying on sandals, flip flops, any _practical_ shoes as Kaitlyn strutted around the store in heels that were too high. Kaitlyn stumbled a bit, stopped and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Satisfied that no one had caught her stumble (or so she thought) she walked back to Hazel, who had chosen a pair of flip flops and was ready to pay. Kaitlyn picked up several pairs of shoes and they walked to the cash, and talked (well, Kaitlyn did most of the talking) as they moved towards the cash. At one point, Kaitlyn abruptly stopped talking and looked over at Hazel guiltily.

"Boo," I heard from right beside my ear and jumped. I turned around to see Isaac doubled over laughing, holding his stomach.

"You... face... PRICELESS!" I heard between his laughter. I smacked him on the side of his head before standing up.

"Let's go." I grumbled and we started walking. I looked back at the shoe store and saw Kaitlyn and Hazel standing just outside the entrance, Hazel's back to me. Kaitlyn kissed both of Hazel's cheeks before turning around and swiftly walking away. Before I turned back, Hazel turned in my direction. In her arms she was holding a book with a bookmark near the end of it.

My book.

I turned away and ran after Isaac. I had a smile on my face, because now I knew she would call me.

And she was going to soon.

* * *

**Ok, that's it! Hope you liked it! What does everyone think about having these additional scenes written myself? (Even though Hazel was technically in this one). Let me know!**

**Hopefully I'll be back soon. Keep reading. Okay? (You see what I did there? Huh? Huh?)**

**XO ~M**


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